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"Flibbertigibbet" And 9 More Silly-Sounding Insults For Your Enjoyment!

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A quote often attributed to Oscar Wilde says "A gentleman is one who never hurts anyone's feelings unintentionally." Now, we want to double down on this phrase and say that we should always try to avoid hurting someone’s feelings.

The entries in this article should be only used in jest, and you should only share them with someone who you know won’t be offended by them. In any case, some of these words sound so silly that there’s a pretty small chance anyone will take them seriously.

Keep on reading if you are looking for a new and fancy way to let someone know they are being a little cranky.

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This word sounds almost adorable, but it is actually another way to say one of the most popular insults in the English language. Poltroon is a 16th-century word that was used to call someone a coward, but nowadays, you might call someone a chicken for the same effect. Curiously, both words are connected etymologically: The Latin root to poltroon, pullus is also the root for the English word pullet (a young hen) and, of course, poultry.

Frankly, if Marty McFly had said "Nobody calls me poltroon" at the end of Back to the Future II, we probably wouldn’t quote that line as much as we do.

Image: Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦

We know what you are thinking, but sadly, a crepehanger is not a place to hang delicious, freshly-made crepes. And yes, we were bummed about it too. On the bright side, this is actually a perfect example of what this word means. A crepehanger is a killjoy, a person who always takes a pessimistic view of things.

The origins of this insult are still unclear, but some believe it comes from a mourning practice of sewing black crepe paper onto clothing items like veils and hats. Therefore, a crepehanger would be someone whose pessimistic, and bleak demeanor is fit for a funeral.

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Try saying this word three times fast. As silly as it sounds, slubberdegullion is one of the harshest insults on this list. It is derived from the English dialect word slubber, meaning "stain" or "filth", which in turn comes from an outdated Dutch word that means "to walk through mud." Accordingly, the insult slubberdegullion is used to describe a dirty scoundrel or rascal, or someone as unpleasant as walking through mud.

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Image: Girl with red hat

Being called a blabbermouth might be a bit harsh, especially when you are trying to lightly tease that chatty coworker with whom you enjoy wonderful talks by the watercooler. Well, you might want to try the word blatherskite next time: it might be as harsh, but it is uncommon enough that your coworker might think you are just trying to sound fancy.

Blatherskite is used to describe a person who foolishly talks too much, and it comes from the Scots compound word blather skate, in which the word skate is used to describe a deplorable person.

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We have all felt cantankerous at times. Waking up extremely early, having no good snacks at home, or having to work late are all things that might make us feel grumpy or cranky. And someone might call us up on that.

They probably won’t use this old-fashioned adjective, but cantankerous is basically an 18th-century way to refer to a difficult person, or someone difficult to deal with. The origins of this word are mysterious, but many believe that it comes from a combination of the Middle English word contack, meaning "contention", and the words rancourous and cankerous.

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Need a cheeky and lighthearted way to call your bald uncle the next Thanksgiving? You might want to try calling him a pilgarlic. This 16th-century word literally means peeled garlic and it is humorously used to describe bald-headed men since a bald head resembles a clove of peeled garlic. Over time, pilgarlic has also been used to describe someone being looked down upon with humorous contempt, regardless of the amount of hair on their head.

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Like the expression "a bull in a china shop", fustilugs is an archaic word used to describe a clumsy person. This word might be derived from the verb "to lug", which means to drag a heavy object like a suitcase around.

So, the next time someone sarcastically claps at you for dropping a plate on your favorite dinner, you might disarm them by loudly embracing your fustilugs side.

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Smatchet sounds like a word straight out of a Dr. Seuss book. Can’t you just picture a colorful creature on the cover of a book called something like "A Smatchet Took My Latchet"? In any case, while this word sounds almost whimsical, it is used to describe a rather unpleasant and rude person.

You can call someone a smatchet if they don’t apologize for bumping into you on the street, or for kicking into your seat during a long flight. Chances are, no one will fault you for it.

Image: Fabian Gieske

We end this list with the silliest-sounding word we could find and, considering this article includes the word "slubberdegullion", this is no small feat.

Flibbertigibbet comes from the Middle English word flepergebet, which means a gossip or a chatterer. However, the word has evolved to describe a fickle, or flighty person. The one responsible for this connotation to the word might be the Bard himself: Shakespeare used "flibbertigibbet" as the name of a devil in his play King Lear.

Secret uses

There’s a hidden microphone in your phone, and here’s where it is

You’ve probably twisted a bread bag closed, filled up your car, or pulled a sheet of aluminum foil from the box thousands of times without giving it a second thought. But many of the everyday objects we’ve used for decades have clever features that most people never notice. From the tiny pocket on blue jeans to the little arrow next to your gas gauge, these hidden designs have practical stories behind them, and once you know them, you’ll never look at these familiar items the same way again.

If you own an iPhone, you’ve probably noticed the tiny black dot next to the rear camera. It’s small, so people tend to assume it’s another camera sensor or even part of the phone’s design. The small hole found near the camera bump on every iPhone is actually a rear microphone.

It captures clearer audio when you’re recording videos and helps reduce background noise during FaceTime and regular phone calls. If you own an iPhone Pro model from the iPhone 12 Pro onward, you'll also see a larger dark circle. That’s the LiDAR scanner, which sends out invisible infrared light to create a 3D map of your surroundings. It helps the camera focus faster in low light, powers Apple’s Measure app, and makes augmented reality features much more accurate.

Whether it's a holiday dinner, an anniversary, or simply a nice meal with friends, you’ve probably held a wine bottle and noticed the deep indentation in the bottom. Many people tend to think the deeper the indent, the fancier the bottle.

That indentation is called a punt, and it’s been a part of the bottle-making for centuries. Originally, it helped strengthen hand-blown glass bottles, making them less likely to crack under pressure. Today, it still adds structural stability, particularly for sparkling wines, while also giving servers a comfortable place to rest their thumb when pouring, though some say it helps collect the sediment as wines age. In any case, a deeper pun doesn’t automatically mean a better or more expensive bottle.

Almost every driver has experienced that awkward moment at the gas station. You pull up to the pump, step out of the car, and suddenly realize the fuel door is on the opposite side.

To help prevent exactly that situation, many modern vehicles include a small arrow next to the gas pump symbol on the dashboard’s fuel gauge. The arrow points towards the side of the vehicle where the fuel filler door is located. It’s a small detail on the dashboard, yet once you notice it, you’ll never have to circle the pump again.

All elevators look pretty much the same. Bigger or smaller, they all look similar, a gray box with a mirror and buttons. But if you pay close attention, you may notice there’s a small round opening near the top of the door.

That opening is a keyhole used by trained maintenance technicians and emergency responders. With a special elevator key, they can manually unlock the landing doors when repairs are needed or if passengers become trapped inside. The system allows professionals to reach the elevator safely without damaging the doors or relying solely on electrical controls. Hopefully, most of us will never need to see it in action. But in an emergency, that tiny opening becomes one of the most important parts of the system.

If you’ve ever stood in the bread aisle comparing loaves, you’ve probably noticed the colorful plastic clips or twist ties holding the bags shut. Contrary to what many think, they’re not simply a part of the packaging.

For many bakeries and grocery stores, the colors indicate the day a loaf was delivered or baked. While the exact color schedule can vary between bakeries and regions, employees use the system to quickly spot older inventory and rotate fresher bread to the back of the shelf. That way, customers are more likely to pick up the freshest loaf available.

Whether you wear jeans every day or only pull them out for yard work, you’ve probably noticed the tiny extra pocket tucked inside one of the front pockets. It’s too small for a phone and not very useful for loose change, but there’s a reason for it.

Back in the 1800s, when Levi Strauss & Co. created rugged denim pants for miners, ranchers, and cowboys working across the American West, pocket watches were commonplace. Workers needed a safe place to carry their watches while riding horses, so that little pocket was designed specifically to protect the watch from damage. Pocket watches disappeared, but the tiny pocket became such an iconic part of blue jeans that manufacturers have continued including it for well over a century.

Almost everyone has had the same frustrating experience. You pull on a sheet of aluminum foil, and suddenly the entire roll slides out of the box and lands on the kitchen counter.

That’s exactly why major manufacturers such as Reynolds introduced the small side tabs, known as end locks, in the mid-1990s. By pressing the tabs inward, they hold the cardboard roll in place like built-in axles. This keeps the roll from sliding out of the box, makes it much more stable as you pull, and helps the serrated edge cut a cleaner, straighter sheet. It also reduces waste by preventing the foil from bunching up or tearing unevenly. It’s a simple design, yet useful as it can get.

Every household has pens lying around for all kinds of purposes. And most of them have a common feature, a hole in the cap, which isn’t simply part of the design.

BIC and other pen manufacturers included the opening as a safety feature. If someone, especially a child, accidentally swallows a pen cap, the hole can allow a small amount of air to pass through, reducing the risk of complete airway blockage while emergency help is on the way. The design became part of border efforts to improve consumer product safety after choking incidents drew attention to the danger of small plastic objects.

If you grew up sewing or watching somebody do it, you probably remember the classic tomato-shaped pincushion sitting beside the sewing basket. Hanging from it was a tiny red strawberry that looked like nothing more than a cute finishing touch.

In reality, that little strawberry has its own job. Instead of soft stuffing, it’s filled with emery, a gritty material made from crushed abrasive minerals. Running pins and needles through it helps polish away tiny spots of rust, smooth rough edges, and keep the points sharp enough to glide through fabric more easily.

Think back to the first time you learned to type. Maybe it was at work, or on a family computer. Wherever it was, someone probably told you to keep your fingers on the "home row." That’s exactly why the F and J keys have tiny raised ridges.

The bumps let your index fingers find the correct starting position by touch alone, allowing you to type without constantly looking down at the keyboard. The technique, known as "touch typing," is widely credited to American court stenographer Frank Edward McGurrin, who demonstrated it in 1888. As typewriters became more common, manufacturers experimented with different ways to help typists orient their hands, and by the mid-20th century, companies such as IBM standardized the subtly raised plastic bars that remain on nearly every keyboard today.